The Nexus 5 is almost certain to arrive today—here’s what we know

We can only hope it will be spooky and launch ahead of prime trick-or-treating.

It has been months since the first Nexus 5 leak stumbled in, and the leaks have just kept coming since then. For the last few weeks, countless rumored release dates have ticked past, but this has got to be it, right? The new handset will launch with Android 4.4 (KitKat) and it's being sponsored by KitKat, the candy. Today is Halloween, our national candy holiday.

Looks

We have a pretty good idea of what the Nexus 5 looks like thanks to this delectable 3D animated GIF, some shots in the wild, some blurry cam shots, and even some renders. The thin, black slate has a familiar face, echoing some Nexus 4 design choices, but the backside looks much closer to the Nexus 7. In particular, the large "Nexus" logo on the back seems to be a new fixture in Google's design language.

Specs

The leak of a user manual for the Nexus 5 gave us pretty much all the internal information we need, and the device doesn't seem to be a large departure from the LG G2 on which it's based. The Snapdragon 800 and 2GB of RAM are lifted straight from the LG G2. The 13MP rear shooter doesn't make the jump, instead being replaced by an 8MP sensor that sounds a bit last-gen. The display is also a known factor. Smaller than the G2's at 4.95 inches, it's still a 1080p display, so it's actually denser than that of the G2. Google has been paying close attention to its displays for a while, so we can expect another bright, gorgeous screen. A lack of expandable storage is par for the course on Nexus devices, but a big step up from the Nexus 4 is the addition of LTE.

An FCC leak revealed bands for AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint, but it left no hints of compatibility with Verizon's LTE network. Having been burned with poor support for the Verizon Galaxy Nexus, it's possible that Google is still throwing an elbow toward Big Red. If so, we might see a repeat of the Nexus 4, with zero support for Verizon.

Despite all the leaks, there have been a number of people speculating about the phone's internals. Rumors of a Lytro-like MEMS sensor replacing the camera have been pretty well refuted, but they still persist. Multiple battery capacities have been floated, and those rumors coalesced into a theory about different capacities at different price points. That theory might still come to fruition, but we haven't heard much more than guesses on the subject.

Software

Android 4.4 (KitKat) is the real area of uncertainty. We already ran through a few of the highlights from one of the earlier leaks, but there's a lot left unanswered. In the last 24 hours we've seen some additional leaks on this front, but without anything official from Google, there's not much more to say. One thing that is clear: Google's strategy of moving more core services onto its apps platform and off the OS is still in full swing. Yesterday we saw Hangouts gain SMS capability, potentially demoting the Messaging app to second-class status, and the new Photo services offered by Google+ make it ever more attractive over the rather staid Gallery app.

We can be pretty confident that KitKat will have a new launcher and a few design tweaks to the home screen.

Pricing and availability

Google did its own leaking for the pricing, though who's to say it won't shake things up? The 16GB model is expected to cost $349, matching the 16GB Nexus 4 pricing at launch, with a 32GB model slotting in at $399. Availability is more of a mystery. Even if Google announces the device today, it might hold availability to another day, perhaps launching pre-orders today. The Nexus 4 faced shortages at launch, which caused more than a few furrowed brows at Google and LG. Whenever the Nexus 5 launches, expect the initial stock to be large enough to meet demand.

Wild cards

The number of product rumors circling around Google right now is enormous. Everything from smartwatches to new TV products, Google Glass 2, Pixel follow-ups, and even more Nexus devices stand in the announced queue of products Google is perpetually this close to launching. We're not likely to see a massive product splash today, though. Google's last several launch events have demonstrated a slow-and-steady approach; launches feature a few products within a single category, not a panoply of products that cover Google's whole range of talents.

We might still see an update to the Nexus 10. It has gotten a little long in the tooth, and it would be the lone Nexus product to not see an update in the past year. Competing rumors point to either Samsung or Asus as the OEM partner; either way, the device is likely to retain the current model's aggressive pricing. Beyond that, we'd take any other product rumors with a big grain of salt.

If the leaks are accurate then this is going to be a great phone at a good price. I'm due for an upgrade on my work phone and I've been pestering the inventory coordinator here about getting the Nexus 5 on the approved list for 2 weeks. Hopefully it will live up to the hype and be worth my effort.

It's also good to see a top tier Android phone from someone other than Moto or Samsung. Viva la competition!

Ah, now I understand why someone would buy one of these. Otherwise it's just meh.

You can call it meh if you want, but I'd tend to call it pretty damn impressive when you consider the retail price of most flagships is $650 - $700. For almost half the Nexus line isn't lacking that far behind in specs.

I'm hoping that we're heading to the world where device subsidies end. T-Mobile is still the only (to the best of my knowledge) carrier to date that actually shows you how much of your cell phone bill is actually you paying for your device. And once you pay off your device, or if you bring your own (such as buying the Nexus 5 from the Play Store)? Your bill is lower. No other telecom offers transparency like that, at least that I'm aware of. That $700 phone feels a lot more expensive when your phone bill goes up because you get it.

... and it's being sponsored by KitKat, the candy. Today is Halloween, our national candy holiday.

Actually it isn't sponsored by KitKat. There was no exchange of money. KitKat is not funding this Android release in any way. They're making a good marketing deal on it with a giveaway and some fun on their sites, but that isn't a sponsorship. You may want to revise this statement in the article.

Ah, now I understand why someone would buy one of these. Otherwise it's just meh.

You can call it meh if you want, but I'd tend to call it pretty damn impressive when you consider the retail price of most flagships is $650 - $700. For almost half the Nexus line isn't lacking that far behind in specs.

Not to mention that you'll actually get timely software updates for it.

Par for the course in iOS land, but a solid differentiator amongst the sea of barely upgraded Android devices...

I hope the camera is better than it is rumored to be. I use my phone camera a lot, because it's convenient to have all the time. Not that what is rumored is actually bad, I would just like an update to the Note 2 camera when I leave Verizon.

Will probably be my next phone. Be great for traveling and swapping SIMs. And not be burned by Verizon anymore on my Nexus updates.

I always thought Nexus 4 was not on Verizon due to Verizon requiring all new smartphones to have LTE a couple years ago? (Of course the iPhone 4S being the exception to the rule)

We are replacing all of our work provided faculty phones with nexus devices once the 5 is out. We have people travel to different countries throughout the year and it has been an absolute nightmare dealing with carrier restrictions... Not to mention we use Google Apps here as well so getting all your calendars/contacts/mail/docs to sync is just way to easy to pass up.

I'll probably grab this whenever it becomes available. However, I'm on AT&T and pay a monthly subsidy no matter what. When my contract is up in Feb I'll probably go ahead and buy a subsidized phone and sell it for the full price or sell the Nexus 5 if I like the new one better.